Amarillo Sox push win streak to five with eighth-inning rally

Amarillo Sox starter Joe Newby pitches against the Sioux Falls Canaries as the shadow moves across the diamond Saturday night at Amarillo National Bank Sox Stadium. The Sox won, 5-4. Newby got a no-decision, allowing four runs, eight hits and three walks while striking out seven in 6.1 innings.

Thanks to an eighth-inning comeback, the Sox extended their winning streak to five after beating the Sioux Falls Canaries, 5-4, Saturday at Amarillo National Bank Sox Stadium.

The win not only pushed the win streak to five games, but sealed a series victory for the Sox (15-12), who beat Sioux Falls, 9-7, Friday night. For Sox manager Bobby Brown, the win was all about timely hits.

“I think throughout our lineup, we’ve got tough outs,” Brown said. “No matter what three hitters are coming up, I don’t think the other manager is saying, ‘Oh, those are the easy outs.’ ”

Amarillo started strong, scoring on an RBI single from David Peralta in the first inning and again on a Peralta solo home run in the fourth off Canaries starter Mitchell Clegg.

Sox starter Joe Newby held Sioux Falls (12-17) scoreless through four innings, but that’s where the game turned suspenseful.

The Canaries pieced together a three-run fifth frame on three hits, including a perfectly-executed hit-and-run to make the score 3-2. Clegg then shut down the Sox in the middle innings, securing a 4-2 lead for the Canaries after they scored again in the seventh.

But the Sox didn’t go down that easily.

After loading the bases with no outs in the eighth, Chris Grossman grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, still scoring a run.

The double play often kills teams’ momentum, but with Peralta at the plate, circumstances were different.

“I like Peralta against Tom Glavine,” Brown said. “I’ll take my chances with David Peralta against anybody. If anybody on our team is going to come up in that situation, I want it to be David Peralta.”

And with a runner on third, Peralta came up big again, lacing a single past the second baseman to tie the game at four.

Peralta swiped second and then scored to take the lead when Joe Weik hit a deep fly ball that fell just in front of the wall in right field.

Amarillo took that 5-4 lead into the ninth, but the action wasn’t over.

Sioux Falls put runners on second and third with two outs, putting all the pressure on Sox reliever Erik Draxton. For Draxton — who has become accustomed to getting out of jams — it was no trouble. He struck out JP Ramirez to seal the win and keep the Sox rolling.

“He’s been doing it all year,” Brown said. “He’s our go-to guy. We don’t have a defined closer, but tonight he was the guy and he got it done.”

Despite struggling against Clegg, the key to the Sox win was coming through against a usually dominant Sioux Falls bullpen.

“It’s a testament to our offense,” Brown said. “We just beat the best bullpen in the league.”

And for Brown, the comeback win against top pitching is a sign of more good things to come.

“If you look at the numbers of the (bullpen) we just beat, they’re Nintendo numbers,” Brown said. “That’s very positive for the future of this club.”